ABSTRACT
Laser-driven particle sources offer great potential for application in radiation biology and radiation therapy. If the promise of adequate size reduction of laser-driven accelerators is achieved, they may in future replace conventional accelerators as tools for fundamental radiobiological experiments. Presently, an increasing number of conventional accelerators are in danger of being shut down due to cost reasons or because the facilities are getting very old. In addition, due to their special characteristics, laser-driven beams allow performing new types of experiments, e.g. simultaneous exposure of cells to photons and/or different particle types and thus radiation qualities, to mimic the situation encountered by astronauts in space or other complex exposure situations. So far, the first proof of principle experiments performed with laser-driven particle beams have mainly concentrated on the question of whether their ultra-high dose rates influence the cellular response mechanisms and sensitivity. While this question is of high relevance for future therapeutic applications, other applications will certainly be added in future.
